Conservatives may hate Pope Francis, but the American people love him more by a landslide according to a new poll. A new dawn for Catholics in this country. – Nate Beeler, The Columbus Dispatch

Conservatives may hate Pope Francis, but the American people love him more by a landslide according to a new poll.

A CNN poll shows that Pope Francis’ popularity has skyrocketed in America.

The latest CNN poll reveals that while Pope Francis is loathed by conservatives for having a more liberal approach, the great majority of Americans and American Catholics approve of him.

A whopping 88 percent of American Catholics highly approve of Pope Francis. Among the American people as a whole, his approval rating stands at an incredible 75 percent. So even though conservatives have made the pontiff the newest target of their hatred, Americans overwhelmingly side with him. This suggests that even many conservatives love the Pope despite what right-wing leaders think. After all, it’s unlikely that these numbers are composed only of those who lean liberal.

Pope Francis is more popular than the conservative Republican Party.

Pope Francis’ approval rating eclipses that of Republicans, which has lingered in the sewers for a long time now. Nearly 60 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of the GOP according to the latest Pew Poll. Congressional Republicans have an even worse unfavorable rating that stands at 72 percent.

Both sets of numbers strongly suggest that conservatives who stand against Pope Francis do so at their own peril. Yet another set of numbers supports this. 70 percent of hispanics identify as Catholic in America. Nearly the same number view the pontiff in a favorable light. 71 percent of hispanics voted for Democrats in 2012. The same poll indicates that latino voters share the Holy Father’s view that too much focus has been given to social issues and not enough on economic inequality. Democrats and the Pope are on the same page on this front, so the GOP only hurts themselves by hating the pontiff and his message.

Pope Francis has become a target of conservatives for taking a more liberal view on several issues.

Since becoming the new Vicar of Christ in March, Pope Francis has made it his mission to return the Catholic Church to the more liberal teachings of Jesus. In that effort, he has taken many positions that threaten the extreme views of “Christian” conservatives.

Pope Francis has taken up the plight of the poor and immigrants. He supports protecting the environment. He has called for putting a stop to hating homosexuals. He has been a progressive on women’s rights. And he has attacked trickle-down economics as a “tyranny.” In addition, he has also condemned obsessive ideology and those Christians who think they are superior to others. In short, Pope Francis represents everything that conservatives hate. Want to know more about why conservatives hate Pope Francis? Just go here.

Americans reject the conservative agenda and support the compassionate one of Pope Francis.

Hating the world’s foremost religious leader won’t score Republicans any political points. It will only cause more people to rally around Pope Francis and his message. Pope Francis’ poll numbers have only risen while his conservative haters see theirs fall into the gutter. A previous poll showed that 79 percent of Catholics and 58 percent of the general public approve of Pope Francis. As you can see, the pontiff is even more popular now, and that’s in the midst of a hit job being spearheaded against him by conservative media. Clearly, Americans reject the conservative agenda and support the compassionate one of Pope Francis. To put it another way, if conservatives hate it, it must be good.